The invention relates to a sanitary flow element which has a flow rate regulator unit having a carrier part extending over the clear cross section of a fluid line section, which carrier part has at least two spaced-apart insertion openings in which in each case one flow rate regulator is arranged, wherein each flow rate regulator has an elastic-material restrictor which is round on the outer circumferential side in cross section, said restrictor delimiting a control gap between itself and a circumferential wall bounding the insertion opening.
The invention is also concerned with a method for producing a sanitary flow element of said type.
Flow regulators already exist which can be inserted, as a constituent part of a sanitary insert cartridge, into the water outlet of a water outlet fitting in order to limit the water volume flowing out of the water outlet per unit of time to a fixed maximum value in a manner independent of pressure. The flow rate regulators that are already known may for example be of disk-shaped form and bear an annular groove which is open on both face sides of the flow rate regulator and into which an annular restrictor comprised of elastic material is inserted. This restrictor delimits, between itself and an internally and/or externally profiled circumferential wall of the flow rate regulator, a control gap whose clear cross section changes as a result of the restrictor deforming into the regulating profile, provided on the circumferential wall, under the pressure of the fluid flowing through.
The maximum value of flow capacity that is sought with the aid of this already-known flow rate regulator can be fixed for example by means of the dimensioning of the restrictor or the configuration of the regulating profile. Since the material used for the restrictor is subject to certain fluctuations in properties from batch to batch, it is however often also the case that the maximum value sought can be fixed only with the acceptance of relatively large tolerances. Insofar as flow rate regulators are required for completely different maximum values of flow capacity, there is a need for differently configured regulator designs which differ in terms of their constituent parts. As a result, the storage and provision of such flow rate regulators is made additionally cumbersome.
DE 102 28 490 C1 has already disclosed a sanitary flow element of the type mentioned in the introduction, having a flow rate regulator unit which has a plate-shaped carrier part which extends over the clear cross section of a fluid line section. The carrier part has two spaced-apart insertion openings which are preferably arranged coaxially with respect to one another and in which in each case one flow rate regulator is arranged. Each of these flow rate regulators has an annular restrictor which is accordingly round on the outer circumferential side in cross section and is comprised of elastic material, with the restrictor delimiting a control gap between itself and a circumferential wall delimiting the insertion opening. The flow element already known from DE 102 28 490 C1 utilizes a relatively large line cross section through at least two preferably coaxial regulator units which are preferably functionally independent of one another. For this purpose, a first regulator unit is provided which fills the outer line cross section and which, in the region of its control pin, has a further, second regulator unit which is arranged in a passage opening provided in the control pin of the first regulator unit. While high throughputs in liters per unit time can be regulated by means of the first, relatively large regulator unit, fine-tuning of the amount of water flowing through is possible with the relatively small second regulator unit. By means of the already-known flow element comprised of at least two regulator units, the amount of water flowing through can be precisely regulated even in drinking and service water networks with large line cross sections.
In the case of the flow element already known from DE 102 28 490 C1, however, no compression of the restrictor in the flow direction takes place, and there is thus also no resulting circumferential widening of a restrictor of said type. The restrictor provided in the regulator units of the already-known flow element is duly deformed, but with increasing pressure is pressed predominantly into the notches of a regulating star such that, as a result, the passage openings for the water decrease in size. The greater the flow pressure becomes, the more intensely the annular restrictor provided in the flow regulator units deforms. With falling pressure, the annular restrictor gradually re-assumes its original shape, as a result of which the water passage openings become larger again.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,950,063 has already disclosed a sanitary flow element which is however formed exclusively as a jet aerator and which does not in any way have flow rate regulator unit. The jet aerator already known from U.S. Pat. No. 2,950,063 has a perforated plate as a jet splitter, which perforated plate has a number of flow holes and has the task of splitting the water flowing through into a corresponding number of individual jets. As a result of the flow constriction generated by the perforated plate, the flow speed of the water is increased in the region of the flow holes such that, on the outflow side, a negative pressure is generated which causes ambient air to be drawn into the jet regulator housing through the aeration openings provided in the jet regulator housing. To make it possible for the air drawn in to be mixed thoroughly with the water flowing through and for the individual jets to be slowed such that a sparkling, soft aerated water jet is generated, the outflow-side housing face plate has provided therein outlet openings into which in each case one spherical impingement body is inserted. The water flowing out of the already-known jet regulator impinges on the impingement bodies and, in the process, is braked, split up and mixed with ambient air before the water can finally flow out of the outlet openings of the already-known jet aerator. The jet aerator already known from U.S. Pat. No. 2,950,063 thus duly has spherical impingement bodies, but these are not intended to deform under the water pressure, and indeed are not intended for regulating the water flowing through to a defined flow rate independently of pressure fluctuations.